Lucerne Carnival, where people get crazy
Ildikó shared her experience of visiting Lucerne with her small children last February. They unexpectedly enjoyed the city's Carnival, which made their trip lively and entertaining, despite the initial surprise of booking an accommodation during such a busy time. She encourages future visitors to Lucerne during Carnival time from February 20 to 25 and suggests exploring the festivities, especially with kids.
- Consider booking your accommodation well in advance if you're visiting during local events like Carnival.
- The Swiss Travel Pass can be a convenient option for tourists exploring multiple attractions in Switzerland, especially in cities like Lucerne.
- Don’t miss experiencing the Carnival; it's a festive time filled with parades, music, and vibrant costumes.
- Always check local calendars for events like Fasnacht to plan your trip around unique cultural experiences.
AI-generated summary-
Last year in February we went to Lucerne (http://www.myswissalps.com/lucerne) and as we have small children our main goal was to visit the Swiss Museum of Transport (http://www.myswissalps.com/museumoftransport). I booked the accommodation just a day before and I did not understand why everything is fully booked in mid-February. When we arrived to the Old Town after an amazing half day at the Swiss Museum of Transport everything became clear: we went there during the Carnival (Fastnacht in German)! What a surprise!
After we found our hotel we went back to enjoy the party on the streets. I’ve never seen Swiss people become crazy like that before. It was amazing, everyone (except us) wore a costume: children, adults and elderly people too. There were many bands playing music (also wearing costumes) while they were walking through the Old Town of Lucerne. Fast food trucks everywhere, confetti on the streets, every shopwindow were decorated according to the festival. It was a huge parade with lots of music and beer.
We felt lucky that we went on that weekend and also that this time our hotel was outside of the old town, so we had the chance to sleep as it was not that noisy 🙂
The Carnival days are coming soon, this year it will be held between 20 February and 25 February 2020 in Lucerne. If you are in the region during that time I highly recommend to visit Lucerne. For further information about the festival visit http://www.luzern.com/en/highlights/carnival-in-lucerne/lucerne-carnival/ and http://www.lfk.ch/ (only in German). You can find accommodation in Lucerne at http://www.myswissalps.com/lucerne/hotels and http://www.myswissalps.com/lucerne/rentals.
One more thing, we visited the Old town on the next morning again and of course everything was super clean, they cleaned up that big mess very fast.
I’ve heard that the Carnival in Basel (http://www.myswissalps.com/basel) is also a good one (02. March 2020 – 05. March 2020), especially the biggest one in Switzerland. If someone has been there or will visit this year, please share how it was! I am so curious.
We did not have our camera with us, just a phone, but here you can find some pictures and videos (watch with sound): photos.app.goo.gl/B6T9XTmYxBoQvW86A
Ildiko
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Hi Ildikó! Thanks for sharing your experiences with the Lucerne carnival. You must be totally caught off guard, if you didn’t know about the festivities and suddenly saw all the Swiss acting completely different from what you’re used to :-). It must have been fun to experience this party-spirit in Lucerne! August 1st is general very cheerful too, but maybe a bit more modest due to the historical importance of this date. That’s just a guess though. I’ve only experienced August 1 as a tourist and I’m not sure how the Swiss value their national day.
How wonderful that all of the party mess was gone next day. One of the reasons why I love the country :-).
Let’s hope someone can provide you with information on the festivities in Basel!
Hi Ildiko, that must have been a nice surprise indeed. Never knew they celebrate Carnival in Switzerland. It sounds like a very nice experience – I hope your children enjoyed this special surprise!
Thank you for sharing…
Hi Ildiko,
Thanks for sharing.
I think Carneval, or more commonly known as Fasnacht, is a big thing in the Swiss-German speaking region of Switzerland.
Most villages and towns organise their own Fasnacht celebration to welcome the Spring season. My little village will have its own little Fasnacht Parade on 29 Feb. My kids love to dress up on Fasnacht. It’s a bit like Halloween, just better and a lot more fun. We love to go to the Fasnacht Parade in Zurich. This year it’s on 1 March: http://www.zuerich.com/en/visit/fasnacht-in-the-city
But the biggest Fasnacht Parade is in Basel. That one can get pretty loud and messy. If you bring your kids, make sure you have ear plugs and don’t forget to dress up 🙂 http://www.basel.com/en/carnival-in-basel
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